Thanks for the info on game length. It will be interesting to see what sort of comments my little project results in.

I personally can play it from start to finish in about 1 1/2 to 2 hours but then I know all the solutions to the puzzles and where everything is likely to be located.

Of course we must remember that if you replay the game it is going to be different than the game you just played. If you are lucky and the cards fall just right, 80% of the places you visit on your second play of the game will be completely new!!

I'm hoping replay value will compensate for a game which some may think is 'too short'

I once played a game called 'City of the Lost Children' a few years ago now, it was so short I thought I had a dodgy disk and it had broken somehow What hurt most was the fact that I was really enjoying it!

this is an intersting thread ,I remember reading a review of my game on anothersite saying it was to short. The reviewer madea comment about playing it twice and noting thesecond run through playing length. That trulybaffled me. I can play through the originalmyst in less than an hour but what does that tellyou about the game? It is a little difficultsometimes to understand the thought process ofgamers ,I guess if you like somethingits never long enough.

As several people in this thread have already commented, I have absolutely no quibble with the length of a game if the quality is there. As an example, yes the Delaware games are short, but they are so much fun that I find I don't mind in the slightest, they are worth every penny. I could play a 20 hour game that by its length is supposedly good value for money, and be bored witless by it.

Interesting topic - how to quantify something as subjective as how long a game plays! There can be reasons why a game takes longer that don't necessarily make it more fun to play. I'm thinking of those games where you have to run here, run there, do this errand, pick up that bobble, hunt for pixels -- those kind of games may take a while to play, but can be very irritating. On the other hand, an intelligently designed game that makes sense can be played fairly rapidly because it isn't full of a lot of nonsensical padding.

When I played the first Myst game (lo those many years past), I had no on-line gamer contacts, no walkthrough, no Game Guide, and had to figure out not only how to play Myst but how to play an adventure game itself. I think I played Myst for almost four months. I loved it!

In general, though, I agree with those who say it isn't how long it takes to play a game that matters as much as the quality of the game. Having said that, I do remember feeling that Amerzone was "short." My playing style, since I still work three days a week, is to play for an hour or so in the evening and maybe a few hours on the weekend. A game may last me a month that way. If I got through it faster than that, I would be disappointed.

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When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail.

The shortest game I've played so far has been Spongebob Squarepants Employee of the Month, but as that is a kid's game I knew it would be short. The Delaware St. John games were short, but I did them with the walkthrough. Without the walkthrough, it would have taken longer. Still, I enjoyed them and felt both were good games. If I spend more than $20 on a game and it only takes a few hours, then I think it's too short. But a lot depends on quality. Some games I like to stretch out over days or weeks to prolong the fun.